464 Items Tagged

Technology

The winner!

Why the Sewer Is the Most Wondrous Everyday Invention

The votes are in, and the winner of Mundane Madness is right beneath your feet.

Jessica Leigh Hester April 2, 2018

One of these will be crowned champion!

Paper or Sewer: Which Is the More Wondrous Invention?

Mundane Madness, our search for the most overlooked everyday marvel, nears its conclusion.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 30, 2018

Space debris looks awesome, but don't touch it.

No Matter What, Do Not Touch the Space Junk

You almost certainly won't encounter any pieces of the falling Chinese space station, but if you do—keep your distance.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 30, 2018

Astronauts on board the International Space Station captured this image the Cygnus cargo spacecraft breaking up in Earth's atmosphere in 2014.

Meet an Amateur Astronomer Tracking the Falling Chinese Space Station

Marco Langbroek spends a lot of time at his computer, following Tiangong-1's every move.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 29, 2018

X-ray images can reveal traces of the ancient medical text written on the parchment that's now covered by hymns.

Deciphering an Ancient Medical Text With the Help of X-Rays

It was hidden under an 11th-century manuscript full of hymns.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 28, 2018

The battle rages on.

Vote in the Final Four of Our Search for the Most Wondrous Everyday Inventions

Who will make the finals?

Jessica Leigh Hester March 26, 2018

Suction cups keep these sensors adhered to whales.

DIY Tech Is Helping Scientists Keep Up With Marine Life

Marine biologists are engineering creative new ways to ride along with whales, bob with jellies, and drift with plankton.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 23, 2018

MPTA-098 with Pathfinder and its previous companion MPTA-ET.

Huntsville, Alabama

MPTA-098

A propulsion engine testbed that paved the way for the Space Shuttle launch sits without recognition at this rocket center.

The battle continues.

Vote in Round 2 of Our Search for the Most Wondrous Everyday Inventions

The Elite 8 of easily overlooked marvels.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 20, 2018

Thomas Edison and his early phonograph, circa 1877.

Thomas Edison Was an Early Adopter of the Word ‘Bug’

In an 1878 letter, he uses the term to refer to a technological glitch.

Sarah Laskow March 16, 2018

Street View of Tern Island

Honolulu County, Hawaii

Tern Island

This airstrip atoll is uninhabited by humans, but absolutely full of birds.

Let the battle begin!

Vote for the Most Wondrous of These Everyday Inventions

The Sweet 16 of workaday wonder.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 13, 2018

Columbian Press.

Rochester, New York

Cary Graphic Arts Collection

Explore the evolution of printing technology, from cuneiform to Kindle.

The gondola on an open day.

Newport Transporter Bridge

The largest of only eight working transporter bridges left in the world.

Obsolescence looms over the digital age.

The Quest for a Universal Translator for Old, Obsolete Computer Files

To preserve bygone software, files, and more, researchers are working to emulate decades-old technology in the cloud.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 8, 2018

Help Us Choose the Most Overlooked Invention

Introducing Mundane Madness, a bracket challenge to anoint the world's most quietly amazing gadgets, implements, and tools.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 7, 2018

Permanently Closed

Inside the WeirdStuff Warehouse

Sunnyvale, California

WeirdStuff Warehouse

An Aladdin's cave of old Silicon Valley tech.

<em>Locomotive on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, near Oakland, Maryland</em>, unknown photographer, c. 1860.

How Photographs Printed on Paper Changed 19th-Century America

Shareable images have always had an impact.

Anika Burgess March 2, 2018